Savannah Morning News | Adam Van Brimmerhttp://savannahnow.com/sms/taxonomy/term/101/
enVan Brimmer: To film or not to film, that is the questionhttp://savannahnow.com/column/2013-10-06/van-brimmer-film-or-not-film-question
<p>Lights. Camera. Action?</p>
<p>SpongeBob is in town. And like the Hollywood types before him — Forrest Gump, Bagger Vance, Mary Surratt — the yella fella is disrupting Savannah’s routine.</p>
<p>The situation has the makings of a good movie plot. Take peeved business owners and frustrated government leaders. Throw in a bunch of demonized out-of-towners in a place that sometimes doesn’t take kindly to pushy strangers. Mix in the firing of a polarizing public official.</p>
<p>Talk about drama. Warm up the popcorn popper.</p>
<p>The weakness is the ending. It has yet to be written. By the time the SpongeBob movie wraps later this month, this community needs to have had a frank discussion about the city’s future as a regular film location.</p>
<p>Is the pleasure — the windfall of hotel nights, meals consumed, etc., tied to the location shoot; the exposure and civic pride once the film is released — worth all the pain?</p>
<p>If so, what changes should be made going forward?</p>
<p>Only when a consensus is formed on those issues can we move ahead with repairing relationships, both in Hollywood and within our own community.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Film office direction </strong></p>
<p>The conversation should sound familiar.</p>
<p>We stand two decades removed from the city allowing Paramount to run roughshod over the historic district while making “Forrest Gump.”</p>
<p>The production company’s occupy movement in Chippewa Square led residents to march on City Hall — detouring around Chippewa, of course — and demand changes. City Council responded by creating a film commission and tasking the group with coordinating future projects.</p>
<p>Movie making would continue to frustrate and even infuriate Savannahians, but with film office staff available to address issues, the process gained civility.</p>
<p>Yet as recent weeks have shown, the system is flawed. Paramount is again involved, and this time the studio is at odds with a handful of Broughton Street business owners dissatisfied with plans to film in the corridor.</p>
<p>The production will be disruptive. Sidewalk sections will be temporarily closed, and street traffic will be impacted. Paramount will compensate merchants for the potential loss of business, but negotiating the payouts proved complicated.</p>
<p>Enter the Savannah Film Office. The agency’s now former leader foresaw issues with filming on Broughton Street. Jay Self told business owners at a July luncheon the movie would require patience and collaboration and “businesses are going to be whole and happy and will make a lot of money.”</p>
<p>The bargaining broke down, however, and Self decided to withhold Paramount’s film permits. In doing so, he alienated stakeholders to the point he was reprimanded.</p>
<p>That rebuke alone didn’t cost Self his job, however. City officials claim performance issues have plagued Self for years. That’s disturbing. Assuming the city is not exaggerating Self’s problems to justify his dismissal, the government kept on an ineffective leader in a high-profile and economically important position.</p>
<p>Sounds like the film office needs another take and its mission a rewrite.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Savannahwood? </strong></p>
<p>The film industry has blockbuster potential here.</p>
<p>Georgia is a movie-making destination now thanks to state tax incentives. New production houses and studios have created a new economic sector in Atlanta.</p>
<p>Savannah is in position to become Savannahwood. One filmmaker, Medient, is building a studio campus in Effingham County. Another project, one involving large soundstages, is in the works. That venture would turn Savannah from film location to film base.</p>
<p>But Savannahians need to understand the tradeoffs. Hollywood is not all glitz and glamour, heartthrobs and creative geniuses. It is producers and location scouts and grips and stuntmen. They close roads, make noise and generally inconvenience everyone within the beam of their lightbanks.</p>
<p>And when they’re filming, spending thousands of dollars per minute, nothing else exists to them. They aren’t shooting on a city street or in a park or at a national monument; they are on set, and they are in charge.</p>
<p>Break a leg, Savannah? Time to decide.</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/column/2013-10-06/van-brimmer-film-or-not-film-question#commentsColumnNewsAdam Van BrimmerBusinessEntertainmentBusinessChippewa SquareCity HallEntertainmentFilmFilm industryFilm productionFilmsForrest GumpForrest GumpforwardJay SelfMary SurrattMary SurrattMilitary humorQuotationSavannah, GeorgiaSpongeBob SquarePantsTelevisionThe Legend of Bagger VanceThe SpongeBob SquarePants MovieMon, 07 Oct 2013 03:13:50 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041979 at http://savannahnow.comSavannah company to launch e-commerce toolhttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-10-05/savannah-company-launch-e-commerce-tool
<div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12683795.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="235" /><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12676672.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="191" /><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12676671.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="191" /></div><p />
<p>Mike Mason found selling niche products online easy.</p>
<p>Write an ad. Attach a photo. Post to a forum. Wait for responses.</p>
<p>From there, though, the process became inefficient, at least for a hobbyist like Mason. Every order required an updated ad. And once his inventory was exhausted, he still had to deal with inquiries.</p>
<p>“For many, selling on the Web is more trouble than it’s worth,” Mason said. “They don’t want to build their own site, and they can’t get through the fog of selling on blogs and forums.”</p>
<p>Mason, a web developer, set out to build a better e-commerce tool. The result is SellBuddy, a plug-and-play service that allows sellers to input their product information into a template and post it on the Web. </p>
<p>The tool manages the transaction, utilizing PayPal for payment, and automatically tracks and updates orders and inventory. SellBuddy also includes a user rating component that emails buyers and asks for feedback.</p>
<p>Beta testing of the service is to begin Oct. 15, with the launch to come within the following 90 days.</p>
<p>SellBuddy also is the first company to attract an investment from Savannah venture capital firm SLAAM Ventures. Savannah transplant John Morisano and his partner, Amy Factor, started SLAAM Ventures in 2012.</p>
<p>Morisano discovered Mason last October.</p>
<p> Mason was living in Michigan but was in Savannah visiting his sister, who happened to be Morisano’s real estate agent. She convinced Morisano to hear her brother’s pitch, and Morisano moved Mason and SellBuddy to Savannah a few months later.</p>
<p>“The product is great. It could literally revolutionize the way individuals and small businesses buy and sell on the Web, but we invested in Mike as much as we did SellBuddy,” Morisano said. “The return comes from the people and their ideas as it does products.”</p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>A regular ‘do-it-all’ </strong></p>
<p>Mason’s path to tech entrepreneurship began with a life lesson for his stepson.</p>
<p>The teenager complained of his limited money-making opportunities. Mason argued otherwise. He sat down with the boy and together they visited eBay. A search of the term “Star Wars” brought up an ad for a replica of the armor worn by the movie’s villain, Boba Fett.</p>
<p>The ad included a list of the materials used. The duo Googled that info, ordered the plastic and molded their own armor. They then went to an online forum for Star Wars fans and sold the outfit at a significant markup.</p>
<p>“I wanted to show him how easy it was and in the process realized it was easier than even I thought,” Mason said. “I did Boba Fett’s gun next. Before long, I became a centerpiece of the site for producing products.”</p>
<p>The leap from prop maker to burgeoning e-commerce kingpin proved just as easy for Mason. He was working as a software developer for a major health care system, so he had the technical background.</p>
<p> And his “do-it-all” personality — he moonlights as a professional beach volleyball player in addition to his artistic pursuits sculpting Star Wars products — lent itself to his following through with SellBuddy’s development.</p>
<p>“I see something I want to do, and I do it,” Mason said.</p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>Path to profits </strong></p>
<p>Turning SellBuddy into a profitable business is Mason’s next mission.</p>
<p>The product is a “free-mium” subscription service. To use it for one product on one site is free. To use it for multiple products on multiple sites costs a nominal fee.</p>
<p> Unlike other e-commerce tools, SellBuddy does not take a cut of revenues from items sold using the service.</p>
<p>“Once people see how easy SellBuddy makes it to manage sales, they’ll subscribe,” Mason said. “And the product involves just an image, text and a link, which are allowed on just about every website.”</p>
<p>SellBuddy will initially target the same market Mason in which found success with his Star Wars gear: online forums. More than 60 million Americans regularly visit message boards. </p>
<p>Mason and Morisano expect forum operators to embrace SellBuddy because of the Web traffic the service will produce.</p>
<p>“Forums were not built originally to deal with transactions, but operators have begrudgingly allowed them,” Morisano said. “Making the e-commerce side of it more efficient is a win-win because it drives page views for them, which they can then monetize.”</p>
<p>Morisano anticipates SellBuddy becoming a cash cow. Overhead is low. The service will be sold through a website and marketing, at least initially, will be largely word of mouth. And the technology is patent protected. </p>
<p>He envisions e-commerce giants, such as PayPal, showing interest in acquiring the service.</p>
<p>“The potential is off the charts,” Morisano said. “Mike is such a brilliant guy. Whatever he decided to do with it, it is going to be a success.”</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-10-05/savannah-company-launch-e-commerce-tool#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerBusinessHealthLaborSocial IssuesTechnologyPayPalSLAAM Ventures912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comBusinessCompany FoundedComputingContact Detailse - commerceElectronic commerceHealthInformation technology managementInternet forumJohn MorisanoLaborMasonMichiganMike MasonPayPalPerson Email AddressQuotationSocial information processingSocial IssuesSoftwareTechnologyventure capitalWeb developmentSun, 06 Oct 2013 02:30:31 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041903 at http://savannahnow.comTLC rolls out 'I Am Tourism' rewards program http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-10-03/tlc-rolls-out-i-am-tourism-rewards-program
<div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12683005.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="157" /></div><p>Back when Michael Owens managed seven Savannah-area hotels, he made a habit of buying flowers for his housekeepers.</p>
<p>The maid service workers were “the hardest working but the most overlooked and underappreciated employees,” said Owens.</p>
<p>“Little rewards can go a long way,” said Owens, who was the general manager of HLC Hotels for 11 years. “In the tourism business, if you don’t have a good front-line staff, you don’t have an industry.”</p>
<p>Owens brought that philosophy with him to the Savannah Area Tourism Leadership Council (TLC) last year. He is president and CEO of the organization, which strives to promote, protect and serve the interest of Savannah’s tourism sector.</p>
<p>Today, the TLC launches a benefits program for the area’s 23,000 hospitality employees. The TLC's board of directors has created the “I Am Tourism” rewards card, which offers discounts at national and local retailers on goods and services ranging from tires to food to parking tickets.</p>
<p>The card comes at a one-time cost of $25, but several hoteliers and other businesses in the industry are purchasing the cards for their employees as part of their compensation package.</p>
<p>“The workplace is becoming more and more competitive, and any incentive you can add is beneficial,” said Mark Dana with Prince-Bush-Smith Hotels, which operates the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express on Bay Street and is among those sponsoring their employees in the program. “The fee versus the potential return on investment for employees makes it very attractive.”</p>
<p>The general public can purchase the card as well through the <a href="http://www.iamtourism.net" title="www.iamtourism.net">www.iamtourism.net</a> website. All Savannahians play a role in local tourism, directly or indirectly, Owens said, so all should have access to the program.</p>
<p>He projects 10,000 users will enroll in I Am Tourism by the end of 2014. He also hopes to triple the number of vendors to 150. </p>
<p>Joining the program comes at no cost to the vendors beyond the discounts. Interest has been strong, as many see the marketing value the program offers: Participation potentially means more business from locals as well as exposure that can lead to referrals to visitors seeking advice from hospitality workers.</p>
<p>“If you run a restaurant and a concierge or other front-line hotel worker comes in for dinner, you always take care of them because you know they have the power to recommend the businesses they have relationships with,” Owens said. “This is the same idea on a grander scale.”</p>
<p>Local vendors are offering steep discounts. The I Am Tourism card gets holders a percentage off their bill at restaurants such as Tubby’s and Driftaway Café and buy-one-get-one-half-price deals at retailers such as Savannah Tire and Savannah Coffee Roasters. </p>
<p>Even the city of Savannah is participating, giving card holders a $5 break on parking fines.</p>
<p>“Savannah needs to attract tourism and the industry does so fabulously, and I want to add to it,” said Lori Collins with Savannah Coffee Roasters, which will soon open a café downtown. “Once people try our coffee, they love it. We see this as a simple way to grow our brand locally and, by extension, with tourists at a very basic level.”</p>
<p>The I Am Tourism program also gives TLC a platform to better communicate with the rank-and-file workers in the industry. The organization is well engaged with those at the management level in the sector but rarely touches the front-line employees beyond education and training sessions.</p>
<p>The I Am Tourism website will become an online destination for all card holders. The promos will be listed on the site, and it also includes several resources, such as a wellness section.</p>
<p>The regular traffic should make the site an effective communication tool.</p>
<p>“One of this industry's biggest strengths is the sheer number of people we have,” said Mark Spadoni, Westin Savannah Harbor general manager. “One issue we have is the business leaders tend to be the ones who get the emails and the communications and it filters down to the line-level associates from there. This is a great communication vehicle for rallying the troops and getting messages out directly.”</p>
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<p><strong>ABOUT I AM TOURISM</strong></p>
<p>The rewards program launches today at <a href="http://www.iamtourism.net" title="www.iamtourism.net">www.iamtourism.net</a>. Created by the Savannah Area Tourism Leadership Council as a benefit for tourism industry employees, the initiative offers discounts and promotions to national and local retailers and service providers through a membership card. </p>
<p>Enrollment comes at a $25 fee, but many Savannah-area businesses in the hospitality sector are sponsoring their employees for the program as part of employee compensation packages.</p>
</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-10-03/tlc-rolls-out-i-am-tourism-rewards-program#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerBusinessLaborLawTechnologyHLC HotelsSavannah TireThe I Am TourismThe TLC912-652-0362adamAinBusinessCompany Employees NumberContact Detailsfoodgeneral managerGeography of GeorgiaHampton InnLaborLawLoyalty programmaidMARK DANAMarketingMichael OwensPerson Careerpresident and CEOPrinceQuotationSavannah metropolitan areaSavannah, GeorgiaTechnologyTourismUSDwww.iamtourism.netFri, 04 Oct 2013 00:51:13 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041749 at http://savannahnow.comVan Brimmer: Weigh full project list in considering SPLOST votehttp://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-29/van-brimmer-weigh-full-project-list-considering-splost-vote
<p>To cast your SPLOST vote on Nov. 5, bring an ID, patience and a clothespin.</p>
<p>The ID for the ballot. Patience for your fellow voters and the poll workers. The clothespin for your nose. </p>
<p>The project list, finalized Friday, gives off a stench. From the white elephant that is the arena to six- and seven-figure investments in admission-collecting museums and cultural attractions, SPLOST will burn your nostrils and make your eyes water.</p>
<p> Especially given the high percentage of the estimated $370 million in revenue dedicated to the stinky items.</p>
<p>Yet the sheer volume of valuable, necessary projects lessens the odor. Tens of millions will go toward roads and drainage and parks. Tens of millions more will shore up issues with public safety facilities and community service amenities, such as libraries.</p>
<p> As much as $30 million would go toward true economic development tools, such as land for an industrial park.</p>
<p>We as voters need to clip that clothespin to our faces and cast our ballots.</p>
<p>SPLOST is a proven winner for Chatham County. The penny sales tax has been in place since 1985 and, as County Commission Chairman Al Scott said Friday, “you can’t move in this county without coming into contact with a SPLOST project.”</p>
<p>We drive on them.</p>
<p>We walk on them.</p>
<p>We don’t barricade the perimeter of our homes with sandbags at the hint of a strong rain because of them.</p>
<p>SPLOST coin has kept the local millage rate relatively flat over the last two decades. We pay property taxes to operate and maintain infrastructure and services, not to fund cost-intensive capital improvements.</p>
<p>Armstrong Atlantic State economist Michael Toma is studying the impacts of completed SPLOST projects, from jobs to development to tax dollars. The guess here is the return on investment will be staggering.</p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>Hard sell ahead </strong></p>
<p>Still, SPLOST comes across like a four-letter acronym.</p>
<p>Fault the shenanigans surrounding similar sales tax initiatives in recent years, like ESPLOST II and T-SPLOST. </p>
<p>Fault the broader anti-tax sentiment gripping our country. </p>
<p>Fault the Savannah City Council and Chatham County Commission for their procrastination in finalizing the projects list. </p>
<p>Fault that handful of foul-smelling projects.</p>
<p>Assign blame where you will, but SPLOST is closer to lost than it’s ever been. A survey recently conducted by a large organization in town reveals SPLOST is essentially a 50-50 proposition.</p>
<p>And the fear exists that should the issue fail five weeks from now, it will never return.</p>
<p>Expect a marketing barrage in the run-up to Election Day. The approach will be interesting. Many minds are already made up, and county commissioners expressed concerns Friday that a segment of the community lacks an appreciation for SPLOST.</p>
<p>So does the notion that roads and drainage and parks aren’t sexy enough to carry the vote dictate the strategy? Or does the collective head-scratching over the need for an arena put the focus on the infrastructure projects? </p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>Scare tactics? </strong></p>
<p>Will we see scare tactics, like the millage-rate increase threats of ESPLOST II? </p>
<p>And can the proponents keep the discussion on point, or will we see a repeat of T-SPLOST, whose champions strayed from the core concepts — the projects of regional benefit — in a failed attempt to appeal to more voters?</p>
<p>Messaging aside, dollar stores would do well to stock up on clothespins. The election is a mere 36 days away.</p>
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<p>Adam Van Brimmer’s column appears each Monday. He blogs several days a week at <a href="http://www.savannahnow.com" title="www.savannahnow.com">www.savannahnow.com</a> and also is a social media regular @avanbrimmer on Twitter and Daddy Warbucks on Facebook.</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-29/van-brimmer-weigh-full-project-list-considering-splost-vote#commentsColumnNewsAdam Van BrimmerLaborTechnologyCounty CommissionAdam Van BrimmerAl ScottchairmanClothespinContact DetailsLaborPerson CareerQuotationSpecial-purpose local-option sales taxTechnologyUSDMon, 30 Sep 2013 03:56:22 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041501 at http://savannahnow.comInterest strong in fifth annual StartUp Lounge Savannahhttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-28/interest-strong-fifth-annual-startup-lounge-savannah
<p>The Creative Coast office telephone buzzed again and again early last week.</p>
<p>Executive Director Bea Wray fielded all those calls, explaining over and over the particulars of the fifth annual StartUp Lounge Savannah.</p>
<p>Interest is high in the invitation-only networking event pairing leaders of early stage start-up business with investors. More than 40 entrepreneurs have applied for the 25 to 30 openings, and more than half of those applicants are from outside Savannah.</p>
<p>StartUp Lounge Savannah is Oct. 24. The deadline for interested entrepreneurs is Thursday. Investors have until Oct. 17 to apply.</p>
<p>“The interest is great; the challenge is in screening the entrepreneurs who have an idea but don’t yet have a business or a product,” said Charisse Bennett, program director for the Creative Coast, an organization that exists to nurture the Savannah area’s knowledge-based economy. “Still, having a lot of applications is a good problem to have.”</p>
<p>StartUp Lounge Savannah’s aim is to give entrepreneurs and investors an opportunity to connect in an intimate, low-pressure setting. Invitees are screened through an application process so only serious investors and entrepreneurs attend.</p>
<p>Investors must have a demonstrated interest in investing in start-ups and have the wherewithal to invest at least $50,000.</p>
<p>As for entrepreneurs, their product or service must be at least beta-ready and have a high potential to achieve solid revenue growth in five to seven years. In addition, the entrepreneur must have an actual company, and the venture should be the applicant’s primary job.</p>
<p>“We’ve raised the bar on investors in recent years, and now we are raising the bar on entrepreneurs,” Wray said. “We’ve found some haven’t done their homework and aren’t prepared to have an in-depth discussion with investors. We’re working on getting the entrepreneurs to get their act together so they can get the most out of the experience.”</p>
<p>Wray can attest to StartUp Lounge’s value. She connected with the founders of social media website Kin Valley at the 2011 StartUp Lounge and joined the group as a business development consultant a short time later.</p>
<p>The Creative Coast’s partner, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), has scheduled a workshop for StartUp Lounge applicants with angel investor and serial entrepreneur Ed Rieker.</p>
<p>The Atlanta-area resident and mayor of the city of Avondale Estates has founded four health care software firms over the last 20 years and will offer tips and insights on starting knowledge-based businesses.</p>
<p>Rieker’s workshop is Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>The Creative Coast is offering an additional incentive to StartUp Lounge investors this year. Approximately 20 investors will tour Gulfstream Aerospace’s Savannah facility as well as several Savannah College of Art and Design buildings.</p>
<p>The earlier investors apply, the better chance they have of being invited on the tour, Wray said.</p>
<p>StartUp Lounge Savannah coincides this year with the inaugural Imagination 2013 conference on Hilton Head Island. </p>
<p>The event runs from Oct. 24 to 26 at Honey Horn Plantation and is headlined by Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Tony Wagner with the Harvard Technology &amp; Entrepreneurship Center.</p>
<p>The Creative Coast’s Wray will also participate in Imagination 2013 as part of a panel discussion on “preparing for the future.” </p>
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<p><strong>STARTUP LOUNGE SAVANNAH</strong></p>
<p>6-8 p.m., Oct. 24</p>
<p>* Attendance is by invitation only. Interested entrepreneurs and investors should go to thecreativecoast.org to fill out an application. The website also lists criteria for selection.</p>
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<p><strong>IMAGINATION 2013</strong></p>
<p>8:30 a.m., Oct. 24-26</p>
<p>Honey Horn Plantation, Hilton Head Island, S.C.</p>
<p>Speakers include William Paul Young, Thomas Becker, Tom Flick, Randi Zuckerberg and Tony Wagner</p>
<p>* Visit imaginationhhi.com for more information and to purchase tickets</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-28/interest-strong-fifth-annual-startup-lounge-savannah#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerHealthLaborSocial IssuesTechnologyThe Creative Coast912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comAdvanced Technology Development CenterAngel investorBea WrayCHARISSE BENNETTContact DetailsDirectorEntrepreneurEntrepreneurshipexecutive directorGeography of GeorgiaHealthLaborMark ZuckerbergNS SavannahPerson CareerPrivate equityQuotationSavannah metropolitan areaSavannah, GeorgiaSocial IssuesStartup LoungeTechnologyUnited StatesUSDSun, 29 Sep 2013 02:10:28 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041424 at http://savannahnow.comCoastal property owners flood Tybee City Hall for flood insurance meetinghttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-25/coastal-property-owners-flood-tybee-city-hall-flood-insurance-meeting
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<p>Next week’s scheduled changes to the National Flood Insurance Program will significantly impact Coastal Georgia property owners, federal officials told more than 200 attendees Wednesday night at Tybee City Hall.</p>
<p>Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives and the state official who oversees the flood rate mapping program spent close to two hours explaining, clarifying and answering questions about the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act. The law, passed last summer, overhauls the rate structure of the 45-year-old National Flood Insurance Program and goes into effect Tuesday.</p>
<p>The FEMA officials provided background on the National Flood Insurance Program and the new law. They also outlined the impacts, from premium increases to the loss of discounted rates.</p>
<p>Assurances that homes that serve as primary residences will remain eligible for subsidized rates, at least until the home is sold, came as a relief to the crowd. Many owners of flood-zone homes built before Dec. 31, 1974 receive a discount, and many feared their rates would double — or more — over the next several years as a result of Biggert-Waters.</p>
<p>Premiums may still climb on primary homes, however. The Biggert-Waters Act also includes a provision raising the cap on annual premium increases for all flood insurance policies — subsidized and unsubsidized alike — from 10 percent to 20 percent.</p>
<p>More depressing to the meeting attendees was confirmation that subsidized rates would not be available to future buyers of their homes. Many in attendance fear what high premiums will do to their resale value.</p>
<p>“Real estate prices are going to start dropping again and we are going to end up in a recession,” Tybee resident Tony Petrea told the government officials. “People are struggling to make house payments. People say, ‘But you live on Tybee.’ But Tybee is not Hilton Head. We are a working class community.”</p>
<p>The FEMA representatives made the case for the flood insurance changes. Storms and flooding in recent years have left the National Flood Insurance Program with a $28 billion shortfall. Flood risks are changing, not static, noted FEMA’s Susan Wilson, and previously the National Flood Insurance Program made no differentiation between primary and non-primary homes.</p>
<p>Owners of non-primary homes — in which they reside less than 80 percent of the time, like vacation homes and rentals — and commercial properties will bear the biggest burden of rate increases. Their subsidies will begin to be phased out at their next renewal and could rise by as much as 25 percent a year until the rate reaches the full risk amount on the property.</p>
<p>Complicating the process for Coastal Georgia property owners is the updating of the local flood maps. The process is underway for properties located along inland rivers. The new coastal area maps won’t be done until 2015 and are unlikely to take effect before summer 2016, said Tom Shillock with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The updated maps could result in zone changes as well as new base flood elevations, the main component in rate calculations.</p>
<p>Many attendees left the meeting shaking their heads and echoing the opinion of Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman.</p>
<p>“I don’t think this law is in the best interest of this community,” Buelterman said. “I hope this meeting will energize us to contact our congressmen and senators to let them know we want to see changes to the law.”</p>
<p>Many lawmakers are pushing for a review of Biggert-Waters and a potential delay in the act’s implementation. But FEMA’s director, Craig Fugate, told a Senate subcommittee last week he lacked the authority to postpone the rate changes.</p>
<p>“I have not found a way to delay without some additional legislative report,” Fugate told the Senate subcommittee. “There is no provision for affordability in this law.”</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-25/coastal-property-owners-flood-tybee-city-hall-flood-insurance-meeting#commentsExchangeNewsLatest NewsAdam Van BrimmerBusinessTybeeTybee CityCoastal Georgia912-652-0362adamBusinessContact DetailsFederal Emergency Management AgencyFederal Emergency Management AgencyFinancial economicsFinancial institutionsFlood insuranceInstitutional investorsInsuranceInsurance lawInvestmentNational Flood Insurance ProgramNatural DisasterPerson CareerPerson LocationQuotationTony PetreaTybee City HallTybee Island, GeorgiaTypes of insuranceUnited States Department of Homeland SecurityThu, 26 Sep 2013 02:29:40 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041132 at http://savannahnow.comFlood insurance changes to be outlined at meetinghttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-24/flood-insurance-changes-be-outlined-meeting
<p>Coastal Georgians are prepared for hurricanes this time of year.</p>
<p>A different kind of storm hits next week, though, and the surge promises to catch many unaware.</p>
<p>The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, begins phasing out subsidized flood insurance rates for non-primary residences and businesses on Tuesday. Thousands of Chatham County property owners will see their annual premiums climb by as much as 25 percent.</p>
<p>The changes will have an even more significant impact on those selling homes with subsidized policies as those discounts will be eliminated. The new owner would pay premiums at the unsubsidized, full-risk rate.</p>
<p>The issue prompted Tybee Island officials to schedule an information session for 6:30 p.m. tonight at Tybee City Hall. FEMA and Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel will give a presentation on the changes, which are part of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act passed by Congress last year.</p>
<p>Congressman Jack Kingston facilitated the meeting, and Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman will moderate the discussion.</p>
<p>“It is very important that we all gain a greater understanding of the impacts of this new law on Tybee property owners,” Buelterman said.</p>
<p>Most Tybee properties are located in the highest risk flood areas, known as V zone. With few exceptions, Tybee non-primary residences with a first floor not built off the ground will see a significant increase.</p>
<p>Tybee homeowner Cindy Cupp hopes FEMA and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources can provide “explicit details on every aspect of how the primary homeowners will be affected by the new law.”</p>
<p>Many other parts of Chatham County are also located in high flood risk zones, and many homes built before the creation of the National Flood Insurance Program have long been eligible for subsidized policies.</p>
<p>The pending insurance rate increases have caused outcry nationally. The Biggert-Waters Act was passed in response to an NFIP shortfall that would grow to $24 billion following Hurricane Sandy.</p>
<p>The impact of the legislation, which was a late addition to a transportation bill, was poorly understood by many lawmakers, including one of its namesake sponsors, California congresswoman Maxine Waters.</p>
<p>Waters is calling for a review of the law, and a bill titled “Responsible Implementation of Flood Insurance Reform Act” has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. Several members of a Senate subcommittee on banking, housing and urban affairs last week urged FEMA Director Craig Fugate to delay the rate increases until an affordability report is completed.</p>
<p>FEMA was supposed to release the report in April.</p>
<p>Fugate, the FEMA director, told lawmakers he did not have the authority to postpone the law’s implementation.</p>
<p>“I have not found a way to delay without some additional legislative report,” Fugate told the Senate subcommittee. “There is no provision for affordability in this law.”</p>
<p>Homeowners are taking action as well. A New Jersey man, George Kasimos, has started a grassroots organization called “Stop FEMA Now.” The group plans to stage rallies Saturday protesting the rate increases in communities across the country.</p>
<p>“My home has a certain value today. When you raise that rate to $10,000 a year, my property value goes down significantly,” Kasimos told the trade publication Insurance Journal.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-24/flood-insurance-changes-be-outlined-meeting#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerTybeeTybee CityCoastalNatural Resources912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comCindy CuppCongressContact DetailsCraig FugateFederal Emergency Management AgencyFederal Emergency Management AgencyFinancial economicsFinancial institutionsFinancial servicesFlood insuranceGeography of GeorgiaGeorgiaInstitutional investorsInsuranceJack KingstonJason BueltermanmayorNational Flood Insurance ProgramNatural DisasterPerson CareerPublic safetyQuotationSenateTybee City HallTybee Island, GeorgiaTypes of insuranceUSDXMLWed, 25 Sep 2013 02:25:06 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041044 at http://savannahnow.comNational retailer Free People to open Broughton St. boutiquehttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-24/national-retailer-free-people-open-broughton-st-boutique
<div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12654220.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="373" /></div><p>Savannah’s fashionistas will soon have another trendy national retailer to shop downtown.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dosavannah.com/article/wed-09252013-0537/national-retailer-free-people-open-broughton-st-boutique"><strong>Click here to view an enhanced version of this story on the new, free dosavannah.com&gt;&gt;</strong></a></p>
<p>Free People will open a boutique on Oct. 4 in the West Broughton Street space formerly home to The Clothing Warehouse.</p>
<p>“The brand’s aesthetic is the perfect fit for the Savannah vibe, and after many requests, we’re coming to town,” wrote Free People spokeswoman Naomi Huober in an email.</p>
<p>Free People is locating next door to its sister store, Urban Outfitters. Anthropologie, another brand owned by Free People’s parent company, will open a downtown location in November at the corner of Montgomery and West Congress streets.</p>
<p>Free People bills itself as a “boho-chic” boutique and targets “carefree, confident and curious young women” as customers. Free People sells everything from dresses to shoes and intimates, but the “main focus will be around printed tees, thermal tops and fresh, innovative jackets,” according to a company press release.</p>
<p>Free People started in 1972 as the name of Urban Outfitters original store in Philadelphia. Company founder Dick Hayne later changed the name to Urban Outfitters but brought back the Free People brand in 1984 with a wholesale clothing line.</p>
<p>Free People clothing was sold exclusively through specialty shops and national department stores until 2002, when the company opened its first namesake boutique. The Free People online store opened two years later.</p>
<p>The Savannah location will be Free People’s 85th standalone store.</p>
<p>Free People joins the burgeoning retail corridor along West Broughton Street. Other national retailers in the area include Marc Jacobs, Gap and Banana Republic, as well as Urban Outfitters, which opened in 2008. The corridor is also home to several independent boutiques.</p>
<p>“Urban Outfitters has a good feel for this market, and that’s why they are so comfortable putting all three of their stores down there together,” said Judge Realty’s Lori Judge, who brokered the lease with Free People. “Free People had been looking for a while so when space came available in the same building as Urban Outfitters, it was a natural fit.”</p>
<p>Free People’s store measures 2,200 square feet and will feature the original brick walls and an exposed beam ceiling. The space has been vacant since The Clothing Warehouse closed late last year.</p>
<p>Free People’s hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. A grand opening celebration will be held Oct. 4 and include goodie bags, surprise gift cards and apple cider spritzers.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>ABOUT FREE PEOPLE</strong></p>
<p>Free People is a specialty clothing brand featuring the latest trends and vintage collections for women who live free through fashion art, music and travel, according to the company. Founded in 1984, the retailer has 85 stores in the United States. Free People also operates online at <a href="http://freepeople.com"><strong>freepeople.com</strong></a>.</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-24/national-retailer-free-people-open-broughton-st-boutique#commentsDoExchangeAdam Van BrimmerPhiladelphiaFree People912-652-0362Acquisitionadamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comAnthropologieBoutiqueBusinessCompany FoundedCongressContact DetailsDepartment storeDick HayneEconomy of the United StatesFree PeopleNaomi HuoberPerson CareerRetailingspokeswomanTarget CorporationThe Clothing WarehouseUrban OutfittersWed, 25 Sep 2013 02:23:29 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1041042 at http://savannahnow.comVan Brimmer: Fearing for JetBlue's Savannah futurehttp://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-22/van-brimmer-fearing-jetblues-savannah-future
<div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/647579157_1.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="146" /></div><p>JetBlue pledges to bring humanity to air travel.</p>
<p>Few local humans seem keen on returning such compassion.</p>
<p>JetBlue a week ago announced plans to add service in Savannah. The news prompted the appropriate “hallelujah!” response. The value airline’s arrival next February will break the legacy carriers’ monopoly at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and result in more humane fares.</p>
<p>JetBlue talk among the locals since the announcement, though, gives new meaning to the term “Oh, the humanity.”</p>
<p>JetBlue’s arrival next February seems bound to benefit the airline’s peers more than the new kid on the tarmac, at least in terms of traffic. The talk isn’t so much about flying JetBlue as it is flying less expensively on Delta, U.S. Airways, United and American to get their miles and other garbage rewards.</p>
<p>Somebody pass the barf bag.</p>
<p>The fleece fares of the last five years may leave our sights, but they should stay on our minds.</p>
<p>Never forget the fare inflation since Airtran ended its Savannah service in 2008. Three hundred-plus dollars to Atlanta. Almost $400 to south Florida. Talk about inhumane.</p>
<p>Label me a JetBlue shill, but on any route where JetBlue is competitive with one of the legacy carriers, I’m flying with the upstart. Even if going blue means a minor inconvenience, like an odd departure time or a longer layover.</p>
<p>The motivation has nothing to do with vengeance. Revenge is wasted energy. Plus, the legacy carriers won’t notice if a few of us shun them. With 65 percent to 70 percent of the Savannah airport’s traffic being inbound passengers, our business is a lesser consideration.</p>
<p>We should all fly JetBlue for one simple reason: If we don’t, JetBlue may fly out of the market.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Numbers game </strong></p>
<p>Airlines, particularly value airlines, base market and route decisions on the ratio of filled seats to empty seats.</p>
<p>Known in the industry as “load factor,” 70 percent is the baseline.</p>
<p>JetBlue’s average across its existing routes was 85 percent over the first eight months of 2013. The airline’s load factor remained above 80 percent even through the recession.</p>
<p>By comparison, Airtran’s load factor on its Savannah routes was 72 percent when it pulled out in October 2008. The airline’s average over the life of its Savannah service was 69 percent.</p>
<p>“Savannah was an underperforming market for us, and we simply couldn’t sustain it,” an Airtran spokesman said at the time.</p>
<p>Similar returns and JetBlue might jet as well.</p>
<p><strong>Added perks </strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Embracing JetBlue also betters the chances of expanded routes.</p>
<p>JetBlue operates six hubs. Four are very attractive here: New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Long Beach. The other two — Orlando and San Juan, Puerto Rico — have potential.</p>
<p>The New York route already exists, and Boston is likely coming soon. With no existing direct flights to South Florida or the West Coast, Fort Lauderdale and Long Beach seem ripe routes as well.</p>
<p>Put all those hubs in play from Savannah and traveling along the coasts and the Caribbean becomes affordable.</p>
<p>JetBlue won’t directly help those of us who regularly visit America’s heartland — Chicago is the only JetBlue city between Pittsburgh and Denver north of Dallas — but JetBlue success in Savannah could attract other low-cost carriers that do serve the Midwest, like Frontier.</p>
<p>Time for Savannah flyers to take the 30,000-foot view. Put aside your affinity for the homegrown Georgia airline and forego those miles on the other carriers you never seem to be able to redeem anyway.</p>
<p>We are the hostess city, and no newcomer deserves our hospitality more than JetBlue.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Adam Van Brimmer’s column appears each Monday. He blogs several days a week at <a href="http://www.savannahnow.com" title="www.savannahnow.com">www.savannahnow.com</a> and also is a social media regular @avanbrimmer on Twitter and Daddy Warbucks on Facebook.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
http://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-22/van-brimmer-fearing-jetblues-savannah-future#commentsColumnNewsAdam Van BrimmerSocial IssuesAtlantaUS AirwaysAdam Van BrimmerairlineAirlineAviationContact DetailsenergyFloridaFloridaFort Lauderdale – Hollywood International AirportJetBlue AirwaysLow-cost airlinesLow-cost carrierOrlando International AirportPennsylvaniaPittsburgh International AirportSacramento International AirportSavannah AirportSocial IssuesSouth FloridaTransportUS AirwaysUSDMon, 23 Sep 2013 03:20:17 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040939 at http://savannahnow.comEntrepreneurs' plight puts water and sewer connection fees in spotlighthttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-21/entrepreneurs-plight-puts-water-and-sewer-connection-fees-spotlight
<div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/12643222.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="200" /></div><p>Trey and Deanne Skinner knew opening a restaurant involved significant start-up costs.</p>
<p>Leased space on Broughton Street.</p>
<p>Redesign and remodeling of what was an automotive repair shop.</p>
<p>Even the dining room tables, custom-made with pancake griddles in the center, represented heavy investment.</p>
<p>One bill surprised these first-timer entrepreneurs, though.</p>
<p>To open their 68-seat, 1,600-square foot eatery, to be known as the Funky Brunch Café, they must pay the city of Savannah’s Water Services Bureau $20,772 in water and sewer fees.</p>
<p>“And it’s not like they have to put in new pipes or even a new meter,” Deanne Skinner said. “You go in there now and the faucet works and the toilets flush. It’s pretty steep and obviously impacts the business plan for a small operation like ours.”</p>
<p>The Skinners’ plight has renewed cries in Savannah’s small business community about the city’s perceived anti-business attitude. For all the progress made in the last year through personnel and policy changes under new city manager Stephanie Cutter, the city still shows draconian tendencies, business leaders say.</p>
<p>The Skinners’ water-sewer fees puzzled even Alderman Van Johnson.</p>
<p>“We can’t say on one end that we want small businesses to invest and open in Savannah and on the other end make it cost-prohibitive to do just that,” Johnson wrote in an email.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Complex calculation </strong></p>
<p>The city is not price-gouging the Skinners.</p>
<p>The fee structure is standardized. A confluence of factors contributed to their high water and sewer fees. Call it the pricey storm.</p>
<p>The city’s revenue ordinance lays out the costs. A new business’s “tap” and “connection” fees are calculated based on anticipated water and sewer use.</p>
<p>In the case of the Funky Brunch Café, the fee involves the number of seats. The restaurant is rated for 89 seats — the 68 physical chairs plus 21 more to account for staff — with each seat utilizing 20 gallons of water per day. The restaurant will therefore generate a “flow” of 1,780 gallons per day.</p>
<p>The flow is then divided by 300 gallons, which is the average amount of water used daily in a single-family home, known in the water-sewer business as the “equivalent residential unit” or “ERU.”</p>
<p>The math results in 5.93 ERUs for the Funky Brunch Café. That number is then multiplied by the cost per ERU laid out in the city’s revenue ordinance for water tap-in, sewer tap-in, reclaimed water connection fees and the treatment plant fees.</p>
<p>The total is $21,348. From there, the city calculates a credit for businesses going into pre-existing properties. The credit amount is where the Funky Brunch Café’s case gets funky.</p>
<p>The café’s location, nestled on the northeast corner of Broughton and Lincoln next to the Blick art supply store, has long been vacant but was previously an auto repair shop.</p>
<p>The owner of that store paid tap and connection fees when he opened, but his ERUs were much lower — a garage uses significantly less water and sewer than a restaurant — resulting in just a $576 credit for the Skinners. Hence, the $20,772 charge.</p>
<p>Had the Skinners chosen the site of a former restaurant or some other water-intensive business, their credit would have been larger. In fact, the Skinners may not have paid a dime in tap or connection fees, says John Sawyer, the city’s public works and water resources bureau director.</p>
<p>“It’s tough,” Sawyer said, “but until somebody tells me differently, I have to apply the ordinance evenly to everybody.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Paying for infrastructure </strong></p>
<p>Savannah’s approach to water and sewer fees is the norm.</p>
<p>Water and sewer services operate essentially as a private utility, like Georgia Power or AT&amp;T. Sawyer’s bureau receives no tax money for water and sewer operations or infrastructure.</p>
<p>Consumption fees — what’s collected through the bi-monthly bills — cover operational costs. But it is the tap-in and connection fees that fund the infrastructure and upgrades, including the debt service on bonds issued to build the treatment plant.</p>
<p>“They’re called tap-in fees, but they are better described as capital recovery fees,” Sawyer said. “We don’t turn a profit here. Everything we take in goes back out.”</p>
<p>The other options to paying for water and sewer infrastructure, such as annual property tax assessments or a monthly fee imposed on users, would place the burden on homeowners.</p>
<p>“The attitude here and in communities across the country is business pays its own way,” Sawyer said.</p>
<p>The only businesses that pay the capital recovery fees through other means are large ones that employ 200 or more full-time workers. Businesses that qualify for the “alternative new employer economic development rates” don’t get a break, however. They pay the tap and connection fees over time on their monthly consumption bills.</p>
<p>The city allows the large businesses to pay in installments because there is little risk they will shutter before the tap and connection fees are recouped. Small businesses, restaurants in particular, are just as likely to close after 100 days as 100 years.</p>
<p>The Skinners’ situation underscores the importance of research for would-be business owners.</p>
<p>The city employs a development service liaison as well as a business development coordinator, both of whom can outline the permitting process and potential costs. Sawyer and his staff are also readily available to answer questions.</p>
<p>“It’s no coincidence that for real estate developers and other design professionals, water and sewer is their first stop, often before they even put in an option on a property,” Sawyer said. “We’re here to work with you.”</p>
<p>As for the Skinners, they praised the city staff. The business development coordinator, Rob Davis, “has been wonderful,” according to Deanne. But the city employees lack the ability to adjust their water and sewer charges.</p>
<p>“Everybody has been very helpful and concerned, but nobody has any control,” she said. “We’re either going to have to pay it or not open.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>CITY RESOURCES FOR NEW BUSINESSES</strong></p>
<p>The City of Savannah’s revenue ordinance lays out the fees for new businesses and can be viewed at <a href="http://www.savannahga.gov/revenue" title="www.savannahga.gov/revenue">www.savannahga.gov/revenue</a>. Business Development Coordinator Rob Davis can be reached at 912-651-3653 and Development Services Liaison Christy Lawrence’s telephone number is 912-651-6510.</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-21/entrepreneurs-plight-puts-water-and-sewer-connection-fees-spotlight#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerBusinessLaborLawTechnologySavannah912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comBusinessContact DetailscoordinatorDeanne SkinnerFeeJohn SawyerLaborLawmanagerPerson CareerpricingQuotationSewerStephanie CutterTechnologyThe restaurantTrey SkinnerUSDVan JohnsonSun, 22 Sep 2013 01:58:20 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040852 at http://savannahnow.comLocal Piggly Wiggly buyer BI-LO focused on growth while offering fresh food, value prices
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-21/local-piggly-wiggly-buyer-bi-lo-focused-growth-while-offering-fresh-food-value
<p>BI-LO’s pending Savannah arrival won’t come with the same fanfare as another recent new grocer.</p>
<p>The Jacksonville-based supermarket chain is pushing a message similar to that of Whole Foods, though: Fresh food in new markets.</p>
<p>BI-LO recently announced a deal to buy several Piggly Wiggly stores, including all six Savannah-area locations. The supermarkets will be rebranded as BI-LOs once the deal closes later this year.</p>
<p>BI-LO has operated stores in southeast Georgia at times during its 53-year history. Its sister grocer, Winn-Dixie, long had a Savannah presence only to leave the market in 2005 as part of a bankruptcy reorganization.</p>
<p>BI-LO acquired Winn-Dixie early last year.</p>
<p>"Our desire to have more stores in the Savannah area is a natural evolution of our strategy to serve more customers in our stores," said BI-LO's vice president of communications, Brian Wright. "Both BI-LO and Winn-Dixie have a presence in Georgia, and having additional stores in Savannah will complement our existing footprint."</p>
<p>Savannah is part of BI-LO’s broader repositioning plan. The chain is buying 22 stores from Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company, the Charleston-based group that operated the local Piggly Wiggly locations. Most of those stores are in the Lowcountry.</p>
<p>A day after the announcement of the Piggly Wiggly acquisition, BI-LO revealed the sale of seven Charlotte-area stores to Publix. Earlier this year, BI-LO bought 165 southeastern U.S. stores from Delhaize, the parent company of Food Lion as well as Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s.</p>
<p>“This process is helping us fuel our long-term strategy of providing the freshest foods and the best deals to a broader base of customers,” BI-LO President and CEO Randall Onstead said when the Piggly Wiggly purchase was announced.</p>
<p>Savannah shoppers will appreciate BI-LO’s approach to the grocery business, said local consumer advocate and newspaper columnist Michelle Rubrecht.</p>
<p>“When it comes to sales, BI-LO is awesome,” said Rubrecht, who writes the Savvy Shopper column in the Savannah Morning News.</p>
<p>BI-LO has customer friendly coupon policies, Rubrecht said. They double coupons to 60 cents, allow shoppers to “stack” coupons (use store and manufacturer coupons on the same item) and accept competitors’ coupons. BI-LO also has a fuel savings program similar to Kroger’s.</p>
<p>BI-LO offers better value overall than Piggly Wiggly, Rubrecht said, which should benefit shoppers with limited transportation options and rural areas.</p>
<p>“For them, this will be a positive move,” Rubrecht said. “I honestly believe that it will open them up to more choices and lower prices in the long run.”</p>
<p>BI-LO's pledge is to listen to Savannah's shoppers and build a "shopping experience around what we learn," Wright said.</p>
<p>"We look forward to exchanging what it means to be local across Piggly Wiggly and BI-LO and working together to run even greater stores," Wright said.</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-21/local-piggly-wiggly-buyer-bi-lo-focused-growth-while-offering-fresh-food-value#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerBusinessJacksonvilleBI-LOPiggly Wiggly Carolina CompanyWinn-Dixie912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comBankruptcyBI-LOBrian WrightBusinessCompany LocationContact DetailsEconomy of the United StatesfoodFood LionFranchisesGeorgiaGrocery storeKrogerMichelle RubrechtPerson CareerPiggly WigglyPublixQuotationSoutheast GeorgiaSouthern Family MarketsSouthern United Statesvice presidentWinn-DixieSun, 22 Sep 2013 01:57:05 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040849 at http://savannahnow.comVillage at Pooler Parkway retail center adds tenants http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-19/pooler-retail-center-adds-tenants
<p><strong><em>18 confirmed retailers, more to come, in Pooler shopping center</em></strong></p><div><img src="http://sav-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/960x450_TheVillageOnPoolerParkway_Pooler_GA.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb imagecache-default imagecache-story_slideshow_thumb_default" width="280" height="131" /></div><p>The Outlet Mall of Georgia and its still undisclosed tenant list may be the talk of Savannah-area shoppers, but another under-construction Pooler Parkway retail center is commanding attention.</p>
<p>Developers of the Village on Pooler Parkway, located north of the outlets off Benton Boulevard, announced seven more tenants Thursday, highlighted by sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports.</p>
<p>The 143,000-square-foot project now has 18 confirmed tenants, not counting already open restaurants McDonald’s, Logan’s Roadhouse and Olive Garden on outparcels.</p>
<p>The retail center is 95 percent leased.</p>
<p>Much of the remaining vacant space is located in a 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot building featuring an outdoor patio. The developer’s leasing agent, Fraser Schaufele, said he expects to fill those vacancies prior to its opening early next year.</p>
<p>“We are pleased with the response we’ve received from so many quality national retailers and restaurant concepts,” Schaufele said.</p>
<p>The developer, Nashville-based retail firm GBT Realty Corporation, purchased the Pooler Parkway property earlier this year. Fashion retailers T.J. Maxx and Ross Dress for Less were the initial anchor tenants, and Michael’s, a crafts supply store, and PetSmart joined them as anchors a month later.</p>
<p>GBT announced restaurants Moe’s Southwest Grill, Jersey Mike’s, Jalapeno’s and Panera Bread as tenants in March along with Rack Room Shoes, Palm Beach Tan and Aspen Dental.</p>
<p>Joining Hibbett Sports as new tenants Thursday were Kirkland’s, a home furnishings retailer, Visionworks, Legacy Nails, Sprint, GNC and Kay Jewelers.</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-19/pooler-retail-center-adds-tenants#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerHibbett SportsLogan's RoadhouseMcDonald'sOlive GardenPooler Parkway912-652-0362Acquisitionadamadam.vanbrimmer@ savannahnow.comAnchor storeCompany LocationContact DetailsGeorgiaPooler shopping centerPooler, GeorgiaretailSavannah metropolitan areaThe Outlet Mall of GeorgiaXMLFri, 20 Sep 2013 01:35:12 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040702 at http://savannahnow.comGeorgia Power plans southside electrical grid upgradeshttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-17/georgia-power-plans-southside-electrical-grid-upgrades
<p />
<p>Georgia Power is ready to boost the juice on Savannah’s southside.</p>
<p>The utility will host a pair of informational meetings today addressing what it has labeled the Little Ogeechee-Truman Parkway 115 kilovolt project. The initiative involves installing bulk transmission lines along Middleground Road and Montgomery Crossroad to increase capacity for southside neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Construction on the $40 million-plus project is to begin in 2015. Georgia Power will begin negotiating easements with property owners along the route following today’s meetings. Those sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. today at The Armstrong Center.</p>
<p>“It’s been a good system that’s served the area well as it has developed over the last 50 years,” said Matt Gignilliat, Georgia Power’s project manager. “As load continues to grow on the southside, we want to up the capacity.”</p>
<p>The new 115 kV lines will replace existing 46 kV lines and involve 90-foot-high poles. Georgia Power also will build a new substation, located behind the J.C. Lewis Ford dealership on Abercorn Street, upgrade a substation near Oglethorpe Mall and retire three lower voltage substations along the route.</p>
<p>The planned transmission lines will link recently built substations near St. Joseph’s Hospital and Memorial Stadium at the Truman Parkway.</p>
<p>The transmission line route and substation location were deemed to have the least impact on residences and businesses. Construction could result in lane closures but will not shut any road completely, Gignilliat said.</p>
<p>The 7.25-mile route also avoids areas where road improvements are planned, such as where the Truman Parkway will connect to Abercorn near St. Joseph’s Hospital.</p>
<p>Georgia Power wants to split project construction into two pieces, Gignilliat said. The first phase, to link the St. Joseph’s substation to the new substation behind J.C. Lewis Ford, is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2015 with completion set for that fall. </p>
<p>The second phase will start at the completion of the first phase and should be finished in early 2016.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p>
<p><strong>What:</strong> Georgia Power’s Little Ogeechee-Truman Parkway 115 kilovolt project information meetings</p>
<p><strong>When:</strong> 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today</p>
<p><strong>Where:</strong> The Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn St.</p>
</p>
</p>
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-17/georgia-power-plans-southside-electrical-grid-upgrades#commentsExchangeAdam Van Brimmer912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comC. Lewis FordContact DetailsGeorgiaMatt Gignilliatproject managerQuotationSt. JosephThe Armstrong CenterUSDWestern InterconnectionWed, 18 Sep 2013 01:13:34 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040519 at http://savannahnow.comMPC blesses revised museum party policieshttp://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-17/mpc-blesses-revised-museum-party-policies
<p />
<p>Score one for the downtown Savannah’s house museum operators in their fight for their right to party.</p>
<p>Pending approval from the Savannah City Council, the city’s zoning ordinance will be amended to allow museums such as the Davenport House, Owens-Thomas House and Harper-Fowlkes House to host weddings, retirement parties and other special events. </p>
<p>Operators will need to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for that use. The zoning board can impose conditions, such as hours of operation, number of events and location of loading and unloading of equipment and party attendees.</p>
<p>The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the amendment to City Council.</p>
<p>Council’s decision will close a summer-long debate over the appropriateness of special events venues in predominantly residential neighborhoods. Many downtown house museums have long been rented out for parties in unknowing violation of the zoning ordinance.</p>
<p>The illegality of the parties became an issue earlier this year when Orleans Square residents balked at repeated raucous gatherings in the Harper-Fowlkes House courtyard. Neighbors had lobbied unsuccessfully against the gatherings for close to two years, even since the property’s owner, the Society of the Cincinnati, turned the house into a museum.</p>
<p>Neighbors seized upon the zoning ordinance as a way to stop the parties. The city’s zoning administrator cited the Society of the Cincinnati in April, prompting the group to petition for the ordinance amendment.</p>
<p>The situation’s potential impact on the other house museums, as well as the Charles Morris Center at Trustees’ Garden, led to public outcry. The MPC staff held several meetings with stakeholders and commissioners twice delayed a vote on the amendment.</p>
<p>The ordinance change recommended Tuesday pleased the Harper-Fowlkes House operators. The other house museum operators, many of whom expressed dismay over being punished for the Society of the Cincinnati’s sins against its neighbors, were less pleased with the outcome.</p>
<p>The head of the Historic Savannah Foundation, which operates the Davenport House, shared his concerns about the discretion the amendment gives to the Zoning Board of Appeals.</p>
<p>“Our fate is now in the hands of the ZBA, and that could be problematic because of all the use restrictions they can impose,” Historic Savannah CEO Daniel Carey said. “We’ve done receptions and parties for decades, and we’ve always been good neighbors. We want to continue to be good neighbors.”</p>
<p>The Society of the Cincinnati, meanwhile, is making progress with its neighbors. Attorney Dana Braun, representing the owners of three properties located across Perry Street from the Harper-Fowlkes House, outlined an agreement he reached with the house operators. The deal involves limits on amplified sound, pickup and drop-off locations, attendees and number of events.</p>
<p>The agreement gives the Society of the Cincinnati a framework to use in applying to the Zoning Board of Appeals.</p>
<p>City Manager Stephanie Cutter, who sits on the MPC board, pledged that the city would do its part to enforce the ordinance.</p>
<p>“We wouldn’t be at this point if the entity had worked this out with the residents to begin with,” Cutter said. “We have to put some things in place to ensure the quality of life. We have talked about processes that we can incorporate to ensure that.”</p>
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<p><strong>CELL TOWER DECISION DELAYED</strong></p>
<p>Vantage Tower Group and AT&amp;T’s petition to build a 120-foot cellular tower at 57th Street and Waters Avenue was continued Tuesday by the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission.</p>
<p>More than a dozen residents and business owners of the Edgemere-Sackville neighborhoods spoke against the project during the meeting. They expressed concerns ranging from health to property values.</p>
<p>Vantage wants to tear down a condemned and vacant house on the proposed site to make way for the tower. </p>
<p>“I would prefer that house be there instead of AT&amp;T,” said Shirley Wilson, who lives and operates a daycare center down the street from the tower location.</p>
<p>The MPC will hear the petition again at its next meeting on Oct. 8.</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-09-17/mpc-blesses-revised-museum-party-policies#commentsExchangeAdam Van BrimmerLawCincinnatiDavenportSavannah CityAppeals912-652-0362adamadam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.comadministratorBoard of AppealsContact DetailsDavenport, IowaGeography of GeorgiaGeography of the United StatesGeorgiaLawOrleans SquarePerson CareerQuotationReal estateReal property lawSavannah, GeorgiaZoningZoning in the United StatesWed, 18 Sep 2013 01:12:22 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040517 at http://savannahnow.com Van Brimmer: Meals on Wheels rolling despite volunteer shortagehttp://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-15/van-brimmer-meals-wheels-rolling-despite-volunteer-shortage
<p>Bill Holden is a proud food delivery man.</p>
<p>He shows up to work early and on days when he’s not on the schedule. His truck is clean and well-maintained. He considers his delivery run his “favorite hour of the week.”</p>
<p>And he doesn’t make a salary. Or accept tips.</p>
<p>Holden is a volunteer with the Meals on Wheels program. About 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday, he backs up his SUV to the loading dock at the Senior Citizens Inc. headquarters on Bull Street, grabs a pair of food coolers and begins his rounds delivering hot lunches and frozen dinners to the elderly.</p>
<p>An hour later, he returns the empty iceboxes and contemplates his own lunch.</p>
<p>“Simple enough, right?” Holden said as he slid back into his truck. “One hour. One day a week. A handful of stops. It couldn’t be easier.”</p>
<p>What’s not easy is recruiting more Bill Holdens. Meals on Wheels delivers 1,800 meals a day across five counties. The 35 routes are purposely short – eight to 10 stops – with the meals delivered to drivers at convenient pickup spots.</p>
<p>Yet volunteer drivers are scarce. The regulars number around 120, and church groups handle another 80 or so trips. Paid personnel fill in the gaps, and with funding cuts tied to federal sequestration squeezing the budget, Senior Citizens Inc. office staff are often pressed into duty.</p>
<p>And the routes where the volunteer shortages are most pronounced aren’t in remote areas. Think downtown Savannah, Daffin Park, Georgetown and Richmond Hill.</p>
<p>“We could use 100 more volunteer drivers, because the more volunteers, the more funding we can spend on food versus delivering the food,” said Patti Lyons, Senior Citizens Inc.’s executive director.</p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>Grateful clients </strong></p>
<p>Robert McBride gladly makes his own breakfast.</p>
<p>Two slices of toast. A cup of coffee.</p>
<p>McBride can’t cook much else, though. Neither can he easily make a run to the grocery store. At age 91 with one leg amputated just below the knee, he relies on Holden and his fellow Meals on Wheels drivers for his weekly nutritional needs.</p>
<p>“These people are wonderful,” said McBride, who spends the weekends at his daughter’s home in Macon. “Everything they bring is good. Except for the pork chops.”</p>
<p>Another client on Holden’s Tuesday route, John H. Robertson, credits Meals on Wheels for his survival. He dropped the service at one point, electing to shop for himself. His cooking expertise is limited, as are his finances, so he purchased cheap, processed food.</p>
<p>“That stuff was so bad for me,” he said. “I ended up malnourished. My legs swelled up. I almost died.”</p>
<p>Meals on Wheels is a lifeline for many seniors with specific dietary needs, such as diabetics. The meals feature fresh fruit and vegetables as well as calcium-rich foods like yogurt and milk. </p>
<p>Senior nutrition is important to preventing hospital visits, according to Senior Citizens, Inc.’s Karen Daiss. For some, Meals on Wheels allows seniors to maintain their independence for longer than they otherwise would.</p>
<p>“An hour a week can really make a difference,” Holden said. “I don’t know what many of these people would do without Meals on Wheels.”</p>
<p node="hl2"><strong>Immeasurable impact </strong></p>
<p>The volunteer shortage bothers Holden.</p>
<p>At age 74, he’s a 17-year volunteer with Meals on Wheels. His wife, Eileen, has worked with the group even longer, volunteering in Connecticut before the couple moved to Savannah.</p>
<p>Delivering meals demands such a small commitment — that hour a week — and the reward is so great. He enjoys engaging with the clients on his route, comparing everything from culinary preferences to childhood memories. They often laugh together and sometimes cry together.</p>
<p>Senior Citizens, Inc.’s Lyons refers to deliveries as “day-to-day wellness checks.” Drivers often spot when “something is not quite right” with clients. She recalls volunteers finding clients who have fallen during the night and were unable to get up.</p>
<p>“People could go to the grocery store or arrange for somebody to go to the grocery store and get meals, but it’s not all about meals,” Lyons said. “I don’t think you can make as much of an impact in an hour as you can with Meals on Wheels.”</p>
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<p>Adam Van Brimmer’s column appears each Monday. He blogs several days a week at <a href="http://www.savannahnow.com" title="www.savannahnow.com">www.savannahnow.com</a> and also is a social media regular @avanbrimmer on Twitter and Daddy Warbucks on Facebook.</p>
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<p node="hl2"><strong>Volunteer Information </strong></p>
<p>To volunteer with Meals on Wheels, contact Senior Citizens, Inc.’s Lauren Cruickshank at 912-236-0363 or 866-579-2116. Visit <a href="http://www.seniorcitizens-inc.org" title="www.seniorcitizens-inc.org">www.seniorcitizens-inc.org</a> for more information on the Meals on Wheels program.</p>
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http://savannahnow.com/column/2013-09-15/van-brimmer-meals-wheels-rolling-despite-volunteer-shortage#commentsColumnNewsAdam Van BrimmerHospitalityDaffin ParkGeorgetownRichmond HillSavannahSenior Citizens Inc.Adam Van BrimmerBill HoldenBill HoldensCharitable organizationsContact DetailsFamily RelationfoodHolden isHospitalityJohn H. RobertsonMeals on WheelsPatti LyonsPerson CareerPerson RelationQuotationRobert McBrideMon, 16 Sep 2013 03:33:24 +0000Adam Van Brimmer1040431 at http://savannahnow.com